Invasion of Keye

Hektarian Kelif motioned to the rest of his men and they stood and moved into formation. The formation looked like a phalanx with two rows deep of each company, 75 men standing shoulder to shoulder in a slight arc. The formation was a flexible one which allowed for comrades to either retreat or advance through the rows in front or behind, but also allowed for the formation of a shield wall to protect from an arrow or spear barrage. The spearmen with their round iron shield led the march for the city, followed by swordsmen, and finally with the skirmishers with their powerful elven bows.

As the elves advanced the 600 men-at-arms, all the Sessauan soldiers who remained in Keye, prepared to meet the invaders. They had rallied in the central square, and knew with certainty that they were both outnumbered and the only thing between Keye and the barbarian invaders. The dirt streets and houses of Keye would be the first battleground of the invasion.

Hektarian Kelif only took a brief moment to survey the city that his forces were approaching before formulating a plan in his mind. The street that his forces were coming up on was a little wider, enough for 10 soldiers to stand shoulder to shoulder with room for combat. That meant that maneuverability was going to be a problem if the elves moved in to tightly. Also the roofs of the buildings wouldn't be able to support any of the skirmishers even with the lighter weight of mithril armor.

The street couldn't be the only one in or out of the city either so the logical choice was to split his force. He called out three sub-officers and gave each of them control 63 spearmen, 212 swordsmen, and 63 skirmishers. One group would split off to the left and the other to the right and if they came across a street, they would go down it. Kelif figured this was the best way to surround the city and hit the forces inside from multiple angles.

The party split to carry out their assigned task as Kelif moved his force down the first street after it altered formation into the customary phalanx for close quarters, just slightly modified for the confining space of the street. Each row consisted of 8 spearmen forming the center with a swordsmen on each end. The shields formed an impressive wall with enough room for the swordsmen to swing or thrust and for the spearmen to thrust as well, falling back on their own shorter swords if needed. The formation also allowed for the group to move forward out of the street if finding large spaces as well as for the next man behind to take over for a fallen comrade.

Behind the rows of spearmen and swordsmen came the skirmishers with their elvish bows made of treated bone for strength and flexibility. The elves had learned to make bows of such material since wood was scarce on the plains. Though the skirmisher rows were further back as not to impeded their more close quarters brethren, their job was simple. They would fire over the heads of their comrades and into the belly of their foes after battle was joined. One precaution that was taken was a elvish horn would signal to inform the skirmishers if they were getting close to friendly units, but elves were excellent archers.

--Hektarian Kelif splits his force into four separate groups to move into the city from different directions because of the narrow width of the streets. -- Each group moves into a phalanx with 8 spearmen forming the center with a swordsmen on each end.s-swordsmenx-spearmenWhat the rows look like: s-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-s

-- The 9th and 10th, 19th and 20th, 29th and 30th rows were made up of 10 skirmishers a piece. The skirmishers will fire their arrows over the heads of their comrades into the middle and back ranks of their foes.

[OOC Note: The numbers come out to like .5 of each unit so there will be one less in one of the groups and one more in another group. ]

The defenders of Keye were somewhat apprehensive. They had been told that the plains held only vicious barbarians, but what opposed them was a different sort. They were fair faced and brandished enthralling, embellished armor of an unknown metal. The commander of the two spearmen regiments was Cour Dumas, a somewhat inexperienced but ambitious officer. He was known less for his tactical skill and more for his awe inspiring speeches. Although discouraged by his troops, he made his position known by riding a Sessauan steed. He was armored as his other troops, in a leather cuirasse and leather cap with a horse hair plume. A short sword in his right hand was raised as he began his speech.

“Soldiers of Mille Sessau! You stand here today both as soldiers and as the vanguard of the will of Sessau! These barbarians seek to ravage the land and rape your women! They will roast your flesh and drink from your skull should you fall before them! We will show them no quarter, for they will grant us none! Look upon them brothers and know that all they wish is war! They have not come bearing diplomacy but instead bring war to our lands! We must hold the line! Reinforcements are on their way and the Royal Army marches to our aid! I stand beside you, not only as your superior but as a fellow soldier of the empire! I cannot promise victory, but I promise that I will gladly fight and die by your side to protect our loved ones! March! March forward soldiers and we will win the day! “

Leftenant Dumas thrust his short sword forward into the dry air and the two companies began to march forward. They would meet the barbarian invaders in the central avenue, spreading the line to press up against the hamlets and buildings to avoid becoming encircled on the central lane. The Sessauans did not employ phalanxes, as they had no shields and were too lightly armored, quintessential for a phalanx, but the military doctrine was simple. They would engage the Elvish Spearmen, who although boasting formidable looking weapons, would either be spread too thin across the barbarian frontline (as they numbered only 250), or would leave room for the similarly equipped Swordsmen to stand on the front, who would have more difficulty reaching past the long arm of the Sessauan Spearmen. If they could break the force that navigated the primary avenue, they could turn to meet the second or third threat and effectively divide and conquer! It would be against these odds that the Sessauan Spearmen would press to attempt a breach, skewering the much shorter ranged Swordsmen against the six foot long pikes that the Sessauans utilized.

The two forces met on the street leading into Keye. The elves were arrayed in a firm phalanx of shields and spears. Their weapons and armor glistened like silver moonlight, giving them a terrible aura. The humans, simple men-at-arms, were far less impressive, but made up for it with a fierce determination to drive back the invaders. As the Sessauans caught sight of the elves they let out a battle-cry and charged forward, spears in hand.

Arrows whipped overhead as the elven archers let loose, causing humans to fall screaming to the ground as their fellows rushed over them. The narrow streets prevented either side from spreading out, causing the two groups to face each other in packed blocks.

The human pikemen got the worst of the initial charge. The enemy's shields and packed formation allowed them to turn away the initial impacts while impaling the poorly-armored humans on their mithril spears. It seemed a whole line of men fell before even reaching the heavily-armed elves. But the sheer ferocity of the human charge took its toll, and the weight of numbers began to bear down on the elven warriors as they struggled to maintain a cohesive line.

Kelif growled from his position about 1/4 the way up from the front line of the street. It seemed that even the spearmen were not faring well against their opponents from the way the center kept moving up to replace a fallen comrade. There was an opportunity to let the other sub-commanders fare better than his own group was. He spoke in quick precise tones to one of his signalers who raised the curled horns to her lips and blasted out a series of notes in varying lengths. The message was carried on by other horn blowers throughout his group that carried over the noise of battle.

The other three groups would reorganize to where the spearmen were removed toward the back of the phalanxes while the swordsmen took their places. Kelif could only hope that the other groups would find ways into the city and be able to flank the human spearmen from multiple positions. The skirmishers would do their best in the confines of city fighting, only removing themselves from combat once their quivers had emptied.

One benefit of fighting in such a formation is that it allowed for movement on the further back rows where the front 8 were locked in combat. All his people could do was wait for their chance, holding the line while fighting to advance. Both sides would be fighting over bodies of their fallen comrades, but the phalanx supported each other. Hektarian Kelif waited his own turn with the swordsmen to either side of him. Silently he hoped the formation, shields, and the swordsmen's better training would win the day.

" Forward men, forward and we will win the day! " Leftenant Dumas screamed from the rear of the formation. The street was crowded with soldiers, and many of them were merely waiting their turn in the meat grinder. It was a fallible move that would cost lives. He rallied his Sessauan steed back and forth, avoiding the shots from Elven archers further back.

" You there, take your men back! Back I said! " The cacophony of battle made giving orders difficult, but Dumas' will would not be silenced. " There is not enough room for your men to fight along this front. Take them across the lane and down that avenue and flank the enemy! I will send runners if my orders change! Go, and Sessau be with you! " The soldier nodded and turned to rally 120 of his comrades from the central lane. The avenue was not wide enough to allow them to fight, and they were merely loitering without orders while the frontline fluctuated. They turned and formed a haphazard four men wide column, spears up, and began to march down another street to the left. They would head down that particular avenue and turn right where they would have to actually exit Keye and hopefully be able to enter the avenue behind where Dumas and his soldiers fought. Little did they know that Captain Juriç and his 120 men would probably meet a second group Elves on that second avenue where they would summarily spread out and engage them if such were to occur.

" Suren, Vlad! " Two soldiers standing guard near the rear of the formation perked up and looked inquisitively to Leftenant Dumas. " Get to the Governor's Villa. Escort him out of Keye and get him back to the port. If we are to lose, du Vas must survive! Do you understand? "

" Yes sir! " The two men nodded and jogged off down the central avenue toward the largest structure in the central square, where Governor du Vaus was stationed.

The meat-grinder in the main street continued as the sun began to set over the plains. No matter how many humans the elves slaughtered, they still found themselves being slowly pushed back by the weight of human numbers. The elven archers could not manage appropriate volleys due to the close proximity, nor could they snipe enemies directly with their own men in the way.

On the human side, the losses were atrocious, but no matter how brave the men, the elven line would not break. Perhaps Leftenant Dumas' flanking maneuver would turn the tide, but that hope was shattered by the faint echoes of conflict and screams of men. The flanking team had met the elves attempting to surround the town and were being brutally cut down by expert swordsmen. Men-at-arms returning back through the alleyway looked panicked.

"Leftenant!" One of them called, emerging without spear or blade. "We've been flanked! More elves are moving around behind the city!"

-----Suren and Vlad managed to reach the governor's villa at the center of town, still distant enough from the fighting to be undisturbed. Governor Du Vaus was understandably reluctant to retreat, but the men-at-arms themselves were relentless in their insistence upon Dumas' orders. After all, escorting the governor meant they would not have to throw themselves at the mithril blades of the pointed-ears.

Notes:-- It is now turn 3-- Sundown will last for this turn. Following turns will be night-- Reinforcements are not possible-- Confederacy of Caexi (attacker) posts first, followed by Empire of Mille Sessau (defender)

Hektarian Kelif grinned at the sound of the elvish horn in another portion of the city sounded on clear note. That meant one of the other three groups of House Vojal's soldiers were in the city and had joined in the combat. Again it was a matter of time as the phalanx did it job of scoring down the human soldiers and the better armed and trained Vojal Talaes [swordsmen] took over from the failing Wingswords [spearmen]. At the sound of the new horn blast, the elves musical voices when up in a cheer from the ones not currently helping the front rows.

As Kelif also waited his turn, for elvish and orc officers didn't fight from the rear but trained their under-officers to take their place if they fell, he wondered if the other two groups had found entrances to the city yet. The goal of the force was to have the city surrounded so opposing forces could neither retreat or escape to cause problems later. If anything they would pick off any soldiers fleeing the city and moving out into an open terrain would provide the Eisaes [skirmishers] easy targets. Not to mention the larger House Vojal groups would be able to surround and engulf any enemies.

With a line of rows behind him made up of 10 soldiers each because of the confining streets, Kelif knew that the human's would be hard pressed to kill or wound over 250 soldiers who worked in a cohesive unit. So he passed he word back to the further back rows for a handful of Talaes to move through the allies and secure them, only if they could move through them with shields. The narrower alleyways would play even more to the Talaes strengths for they would be able to trap the human spearmen's spear against the wall for a deadly attack of their own.

Group 2

Sub-Tystalaes Gillum had found a second street to move up having already reorganized his phalanx rows with the spearmen more to the back and the swordsmen leading the forward rows. It hadn't taken to long for them to find action for a group of human spearmen came down that street. The battle was fierce, but the Talaes under his command fought hard and deadly. The phalanx adding a second degree of protection to the mithril encased warriors.

One of his horn blowers signaled that wailing tone from the horn that they had joined in the combat. It had only been a couple of seconds after that signal when the horn blasts came from Hektarian Kelif's group. Gillum understood the message from where he was in the formation and followed orders. A handful of Talaes broke off from further back in the line to start making their way through the alleys.

-- Group 1 and Group 2 are now in the city's streets fighting off groups of human spearmen while they worked in the phalanx formation. Group 1 is almost out of Wingswords [spearmen] with a little over 10 left, before the front row is completely made up of the Talaes [swordsmen]. Groups 2,3, and 4 will have their front rows made up completely of Talaes having reoganized the phalanx before entering the city.

--Though Groups 3 and 4 are trying to find ways into the city, all four groups send a handful of Talaes [20-30 swordsmen] into the alleyways only if they can use their sword and shield from the further back rows. This tactic is to try and secure the city more. Also could be use to help flank the streets more.

[OOC Note: The units in the streets are 28 rows deep, so this will pull off 2-3 rows from the ones not fighting in the back.]

" Hmph, " Leftenant Dumas murmured. The battle was lost. Every second he wasted was another Sessauan dead. He turned his steed back to the battle, closer so that his comrades could hear him. " Back brothers! Back from these heathens and head to the south! We will regroup on the High Plains and retake our beloved city! " He turned his steed away from the Sessauan spearmen as they began to disengage and looked across the huge square where the Governor's Villa was. He watched as his two trusted aides Suren and Vlad escorted the reluctant but stern Governor du Vaus into the carriage and watched him off, the carriage bouncing as it headed southward.

" You soldier, return to the western avenue and tell the men to pull back to the south! We will regroup there. Do you understand? "

" Yes! " The soldier turned back around and headed down the alleyway a second time.

The retreat would be by no means tactical, additional casualties would be inevitable, but Leftenant Dumas hoped to save the majority of his small host. He would have to leave the citizens to the mercy of the barbarians, but they would return. He knew it. They would come back and retake Keye. They could not flee East or West, as it seemed the barbarians were already flanking them, but to the South would be open to the open plains and give them temporary refuge. Dumas turned his steed away from the battle and kicked it into a gallop to head south. He would manage whatever soldiers managed to make it there. He would bear the responsibility of losing Keye.

The training of the elven warriors was obvious. As the Sessauan spearmen broke into a retreat they advanced swiftly, but refused to break their formation as they pursued the fleeing humans. Humans who fell behind their fleeing comrades were run through and left bleeding in the street as the elves continued on, not caring whether their victims lived or died. The southern end of the city was now completely overrun; elven swordsmen were swarming and scouring the various small alleyways, while a solid line of soldiers advanced at a slow charge through the main street.

As Kelif's forces reached the main square, the blare of horns to his left and right alerted him that 2 and 3 were advancing from the east and west. The humans had obviously abandoned the town, but the elves were rapidly drawing a noose tight around them, cutting off paths of escape. Dozens of men-at-arms who got separated from the main force were killed in back alleys trying to hide or sneak past the invading force, but there was no sign of the leader.

----

Leftenant Dumas, the governor, and their remaining troops successfully retreated down the southern road of the town, although in hot pursuit and with sorry losses. As the group advanced out of town at a half run, the sight of glistening swords and elven spears greeted them. The fourth group of elven soldiers had not managed to beat the humans to the southern road out of town, but the elven soldiers now cried out and gave chase with the intention of running the small force down and annihilating it before they could escape onto the open darkness of the plains.

Notes:-- It is now night. The plains are dark and visibility is greatly limited.-- Reinforcements are not possible-- Confederacy of Caexi (attacker) posts first, followed by Empire of Mille Sessau (defender)